"Wait, hold on!"
Funan hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Look at these two—aren't they both way stronger than me? Why are you coming after me first? Where's your conscience? Did a dog eat it?"
Six Paths Madara sneered coldly and didn't bother to reply. He charged forward in an instant.
"Die!"
"Naruto! Sasuke! Help me—protect your Hokage, now!"
Funan shouted and immediately turned to run.
That move completely confused Madara.
What was Funan trying to pull?
Couldn't figure it out? Then forget it.
Madara began to chase him down.
Naruto and Sasuke saw this—and there was no way they'd just let it happen.
The two immediately stepped in front of Funan to intercept Madara.
Everyone else was speechless.
Weren't they just asked to set up a barrier so they could fight?
And now, one second later, he's running away?
[Boom!]
Naruto raised a massive Rasengan and slammed it forward.
Madara dodged with a flicker.
Sasuke's Rinnegan spun, activating his ability. He instantly warped Naruto's Rasengan.
The huge Rasengan reappeared right in front of Madara's eyes, forcing him to push it away using repulsive force.
Sasuke charged in and closed the distance to Madara.
A black rod formed in his hand.
[Thud!]
[Bang!]
Just as Sasuke was about to stab Madara, the latter swung his own black rod.
Their weapons clashed with a sharp clang.
"Get out of my way!"
Madara roared and blasted Sasuke back, charging once more toward Funan.
But Naruto showed up again at that very moment.
"Naruto, are you ready?"
A voice echoed from within Naruto.
"Yeah. Let's do it, Son Goku!"
Naruto replied.
Funan seemed to catch that. He opened his eyes and looked toward Naruto.
With a single glance, he saw clearly inside Naruto's body.
Where the Nine-Tails had once been sealed, the nine Tailed Beasts now sat together in a circle—and in the center, unmistakably, was the Nine-Tails.
Funan twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Where did these nine Tailed Beasts come from?
Even if it was just chakra...
Fine.
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo!
That bastard. Always so scheming!
He was the one who split the Tailed Beasts, and back then, he must have saved a portion of their power. The nine themselves probably don't even know about it.
"Rooaargh!"
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
A heavy, overwhelming pressure radiated from Naruto's body.
A massive amount of chakra gathered at his hand, forming a gigantic arm.
He swung it—
—and punched Madara directly.
[Bang!]
[Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!]
[Pfft!]
[Whoosh!]
Under that monstrous physical force, Madara coughed up blood on the spot. His body was launched like a cannonball, sent flying over a kilometer before slamming into the chain barrier—and then bouncing off again.
"Huh?"
That sight lit up many people's eyes.
"Taijutsu?"
Tobirama murmured, "So taijutsu actually works?"
He turned his head, scanning the crowd for someone suitable—or more precisely, for that someone.
Kakashi appeared before him, bringing Guy along.
"Second Hokage, are you looking for Guy? Might Guy?"
Kakashi knew full well—
Guy does not stand out much in Konoha, but he was undoubtedly powerful.
There were plenty of shinobi stronger than him in various ways…
But!
When it came to pure taijutsu? Guy stood unmatched. Not just in Konoha—across the entire ninja world.
A master of pure physical combat!
"Guy, you specialize in taijutsu?" Tobirama looked him over with a hint of hesitation.
His chakra didn't seem particularly active.
"Of course!" Guy grinned, his teeth gleaming with a dazzling shine.
[Ding!]
Tobirama: "…"
Another red flag… This one might not be all that reliable.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Second Hokage, I can assure you—Guy is a true taijutsu master. He even knows the Eight Gates technique."
"The Eight Gates?" Tobirama was taken aback. He quickly asked, "How many can you open?"
"All eight," Guy replied honestly. "But… the Hokage gave me a strict order—under no circumstances am I to open the Eighth Gate. If I do, he said he'd kick me out of the village."
Tobirama's eyes lit up. His gaze toward Guy changed completely.
Someone who could open all eight gates… was on an entirely different level from ordinary taijutsu users.
And this man—he could open all eight!
Tobirama had never seen someone unleash all the gates at once.
No need to think too hard—he had to be terrifyingly strong.
As for the Hokage's ban, Tobirama wasn't the least bit surprised.
Once the Eighth Gate is opened, death is guaranteed.
The Eight Gates technique is a momentary burst—blazing brightly, then extinguishing completely.
And right now, things hadn't reached that point… yet.
Of course, if the chance came, Tobirama wouldn't mind one bit if Guy opened the Eighth Gate to kill Six Paths Madara.
If sacrificing one man could take down Six Paths Madara—well, that would be perfect.
With the war this far gone, as if people hadn't died already?
Who cared if one more was added to the list?
Every shinobi marched onto the battlefield ready to die.
...
[Bang!]
Madara rose to his feet once more, his eyes blazing with fury as he locked onto Naruto.
His wounds were already healing—visibly, rapidly.
He was livid.
Since his resurrection, nothing had gone right for him.
Even now, as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, he'd already been injured multiple times.
"Fine. FINE!" Madara snarled, face contorted. "You're all going to die!"
[BOOM!!!]
Madara unleashed his full power!
Truth-Seeking Orbs lashed out in every direction in a chaotic storm.
He threw out every technique in his arsenal.
In that overwhelming barrage, all the sealing chains and barriers became jokes.
They were shredded like paper.
The shinobi scattered in disarray, desperately fleeing the onslaught.
Even Naruto and Sasuke had no choice but to fall back.
After flinging all the surrounding ninja away, Madara forged his Truth-Seeking Orbs into two massive blades—and with a roar, charged at Naruto and Sasuke.
The two charged forward without a shred of fear.
[BANG!]
The clash sent them flying.
Madara surged after them once again.
"Damn," Funan muttered, "Looks like Madara finally snapped."
[Boom!]
Another round of violent attacks sent Naruto and Sasuke crashing back again.
Madara, his blood-red eyes glowing with madness, now turned… toward Funan.
"Hehehe!"
Funan scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled.
"Madara-dono, good morning. May I ask... have you had breakfast yet?"
"Die."
That was Madara's only response.
...Bastard, I'm gonna kill you!
[Whoosh!]
Funan narrowly dodged Madara's incoming strike and countered with a punch of his own.
[Boom!]
With a dull thud, Madara was sent flying by Funan's fist.
"Ugh!"
Madara clutched his injured nose, glaring at Funan and gritting his teeth.
"Beast... since you have the Rinnegan, what the hell is wrong with you? From the beginning until now, what exactly are you trying to do?"
[Whoosh!]
Naruto and Sasuke flew back into the scene.
Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, and Minato also arrived.
"Funan!"
Tobirama's face flushed with fury.
"You've been hiding this much power—what are you playing at?"
Do you have any idea how many people have died in this war?
"What am I playing at?" Funan thought for a moment, then replied calmly, "I'm just trying to use this opportunity to eliminate all the unstable elements once and for all—so that the ninja world can finally know peace."
He turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke.
"Aren't you curious? About how these two kids suddenly got so strong, so fast?"
The crowd fell silent at his words.
That mysterious power boost Naruto and Sasuke experienced… there was no way no one had noticed it.
"Madara."
Funan fixed his eyes on him, speaking with layered meaning: "Do you really believe you're in control of everything? Have you never considered the possibility that you're being manipulated too?"
Just two simple sentences—yet they left everyone in silence.
What was Funan implying?
That Madara had been manipulated?
But who could possibly manipulate him?
If that were true… it was terrifying.
Madara narrowed his eyes at Funan. "What are you getting at?"
"Oh, nothing special," Funan replied with a carefree smile. "I just wanted to ask... do you still want to keep fighting?"
Four pairs of eyes instantly locked onto Madara.
Uchiha Funan.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto Uzumaki.
Senju Hashirama.
But all Madara could think about was that sentence Funan had just said…
That he was a pawn too?
Who could control him?
Like they did with Obito?
No—impossible!
Obito had been under someone else's thumb from the start. But him?
Who could possibly control his every move?
Back then, he'd even sent Black Zetsu to keep constant watch on Obito...
Black Zetsu!!!
Madara froze.
Only Black Zetsu had stayed with him all along. If someone were watching him, Black Zetsu would be the perfect candidate.
But still—
Black Zetsu was his creation.
A product of Yin Release. Betrayal should've been impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
That's what he kept telling himself—but still, Madara felt a tight knot in his chest.
Forget it.
Whether or not Black Zetsu was a problem didn't matter anymore. He wasn't that useful at this point anyway. Better to keep a close eye on him—just in case.
And if it came down to it… he could always make Black Zetsu disappear.
As for Uchiha Funan, Madara didn't know him too well—but even he could tell this wasn't someone who spoke idly.
If Funan dropped such a loaded hint… then maybe he really did know something.
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